Up, Up, and Away!

Last Monday, I got to cross off an "I didn't know it was on my bucket list" item...a hot air balloon ride! My school recently was selected as a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School award winner and our principal and PTO decided to celebrate in grand style. At first, when I was asked if I would like to be one of the ten staff members to ride, I hesitated due to my stomach-churning fear of heights. In my opinion, the best place for my feet is firmly planted on the ground! But, I said yes, knowing that if I didn't, I would forever regret the lost opportunity. And I am so, so glad I did!

Time to fly!

Prepping for the launch

Bye, kids! See you later!

 

 

Fabulous views from every angle!

Our pilot was also a great tour guide. Not only did we get information about where we were, we also learned a lot about the history of hot air ballooning and the business of operating balloons today.



I-75 to Dayton

Our chase team

We landed near a daycare center...saw some very excited kids!

All good thing must come to an end

Bella Balloons...awesome pilots and crew!

 

Our flight ended with a celebratory toast in our souvenir champagne flute...filled with sparkling peach juice since we had to return to our classes!

Our Pinteresting Project!

The fifth grade students proved to be the perfect group for my "Pinteresting" Dot Day project! I featured the pin that inspired our work in our display cabinet with the finished projects.


Our Pinspiration

And here is how we did it using colored construction paper cut into 1-inch strips, glue sticks, extra colored paper, 9x12-inch hardboard panels, and lots of ModPodge! The students worked in groups of 4-5 students, so it was a great exercise in collaboration and teamwork as well as creativity.

 

 

 

 

And here are some of the results!

 



 

These projects are getting rave reviews in the display case across from the main office of the school!

 

 

Dot Day Zentangles

This project took a little longer to complete than I had originally planned, but I love the way it turned out! I like to begin the seventh grade year with a unit about Zentangles. Every year is a little different, but for the most part, this meditative drawing activity makes for a calm, focused art period on Friday afternoons, which is when I see my seventh grade students. This year, after the traditional four-inch square Zentangles were completed, I pulled out a box of old CDs and DVDs (courtesy of our computer lab) and we made Dot Day Zentangles.




First, the students created a round Zentangle, the same size as the CD or DVD.

 

A simplified version of the Zentangle was then drawn on the shiny side
of the disk using colored permanent markers.

 

 

We used Mod Podge to glue the paper to the disk.
A white twist tie was sandwiched between the layers for hanging the finished work.

 

 

 

The students also had the option of glazing the paper with the Mod Podge
to create a shiny surface and protect the paper drawing.

 

 

Now that most of the projects are finished, the last step will be using fishing line to hang the pieces in the window to catch and reflect the sunlight. Should be quite lovely!

 



MUSE Machine...bringing the arts to schools!

Our new year with MUSE Machine got off to a fantastic start with a special workshop in mid-September to welcome our new sixth grade class and introduce them to the MUSE Machine secondary program.

What is this MUSE Machine?

Just one of the most amazing arts organizations anywhere...and it's in Dayton, Ohio!

Our music teacher and I have been secondary level (grades 6-12) club advisors for the past five years. Through this organization, we have met and worked with some of the most creative and talented visual and performing artists you could ever hope to meet. But even more important, our students have been enriched by these artists through in-school performances, artist residencies, and field trips to arts venues.


"So You Think You Can't Dance?" proved to be a high-energy hour with choreographer Lula Elzy (Lula Elzy Dance Theatre of New Orleans) and actor and Wright State University musical theatre director, Joe Deer, two of MUSE Machine's arts partners. They challenged our returning seventh and eighth grade MUSE Club members and the entire sixth grade class to put on their "dancing shoes" and prove that middle school students CAN dance!


Everyone had a great time, including myself, my fellow Muse Machine advisor, Sherri (music teacher), and all four sixth grade teachers.





Later in the month, our full season of Muse Machine in-school performances opened with a performance of "Historical!" by The Human Race Theatre Company, one of Dayton's many awesome performing arts organizations. Scott Stoney, resident artist with Human Race and script writer for "Historical", and four young actors took the students on a journey through critical events in American history using the musical, an all-American art form, as their vehicle.

Songs included "But, Mr. Adams" from 1776, a heart-felt medley from The Civil War that included "Judgment Day" and "Tell My Father", and a humorous rendition of "Thank You, Herbert Hoover" from Annie.  The 40-minute performance ended with a moving rendition of "The Gun Song" from Assassins, a very timely commentary on today's culture and gun violence. After the performance, the actors and Mr. Stoney conducted an informative Q & A session for the students before everyone headed back to prepare for dismissal.

We'll be looking forward to November 5, the date of our next MUSE Machine in-school performance!

Dot Day Success Stories!

September 15, International Dot Day, has become International Dot Month for my classroom! I only see each group of students once a week and I have a tendency to start with a "small" idea that seems to take on a life of its own once the students get started. Here are just a few photos from our finished projects. We had a few schedule changes, so not every grade level is represented yet, but we're working on it!

Many first graders had never used oil pastels before, so this was a lesson in using them with pan tempera paints. The fun was in seeing their pleasure at realizing that the tempera paint could not cover up the oil pastel work....new vocabulary word...resist!

I love the expression on this face!

The second graders created "tie dye" backgrounds for our Dot Day bulletin board using super-sized coffee filters. This was a team project, so each student also made a "personal size" dot to take home using standard filters. Great fun!

This third graders have been working on "long and tall" art, so their groups worked together to make long or tall collage Dot Day projects using a variety of art materials and full access to our collage box of abandoned, unclaimed artwork from the previous year. It was like being on a treasure hunt as each group looked for the perfect bits to add to their creations!

 



   

The sixth grade students worked in teams using iPads to photograph dots found in the art room. Once they had created their album of dots, they used their best photos in the PicCollage app to complete the project.

 

 Our middle school art club, known as Muse Club because of our affiliation with Dayton's Muse Machine, created some Dot Day paintings at our September club meeting.

So, all in all, September has been a month filled with creativity and collaboration...thanks to the inspiration provided by Peter Reynolds and his little book, "The Dot"!